prsentation kongelig akademi rev 7

Presentation - Christian ILCUS – Kongelig Akademi – Strategisk Byplanlægning
My name is Christian Ilcus’. I have an MSc in Political Science from IFSK-Århus, and an MA in
EU Studies from the College of Europe. I have participated in Øresund University's Summer School
almost 20 years ago. I consider myself European. I hope all of you do too. I have noted how the
construction of a transnational metropolis has been rebranded as the Greater CPH or Greater
Copenhagen. I believe this expresses an immature approach, an immaturity that expresses itself
primarily through our desire to avoid examining the true roots of concepts that orientate our
thinking and, therefore, our entire approach to the world. The motive is perhaps more prestigious:
Copenhagen's relapse contains the seeds of the next phase of the transformation of the city within a
certain jurisdiction but with a multicultural flavor. In more direct terms, only a fool is blind to the
role of women's desire for emancipation, struggles within the labor movement for dominance, the
skyrocketing of house prices, and bureaucracies' difficulties in dealing with "threats" to internal and
external cohesion in joining the EU. This is part of the entire process.
However, I am not out to destroy, but to evaluate and, above all, to create, integrate, and build new
values.
I am 53 years old. I live in Kolding, where I have ended up as a bit of a hustler, an insider on the
outside with informal influence in the EU, and locally as part of my political activism, not-for-profit
policy advisory, and scientific production. I studied courses in strategic management and Chinese in
the previous semester at the Business Academy in Kolding. Here, I learned about the
interrelationships between systems, structures, and processes and the interaction with the outside
world in a contemporary form, the need to position oneself, the importance of story-telling, the
importance of communicating how the organization should move forward, and why it has an interest
in doing so.
I am motivated by the desire to enter permanent paid employment.
I ran for the European Parliament for the Liberal Party in the South Jutland Region but lost to
competitor Asger Christensen, which was expected. However, I received the longest applause, and
the audience gasped during my speech for my courage and my clear messages. One of my key
issues is the strengthening of EU urban governance policies and networks through the establishment
of the European Center of Excellence in Metropolitan Governance.
I am motivated by the desire to contribute to the construction of the European Union's urban
policies based on a theoretically sound urban theory and through the use of outstanding architects.
The starting point for this could be a multicultural European City on the site between the Blue
Planet and Kastrup Airport. I have dabbled in urban theories, such as modernization theory, smart
growth, center-periphery, and regionalism, but only superficially. I look forward to deepening my
knowledge of this subject. I have no idea where to start or how to orient myself in literature. All I
know is that I am not interested in the Dadaist assemblage. I am committed to a cultural-political
statement that is holistic and coherent, communicating European identity with a Scandinavian
flavor that is qualitatively superior to what has gone before.
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I am the author of a book on European Painting, which I am currently revising. Therefore, I know
the importance of being both theoretically sound and inventive in designing innovation and
contributing to cultural development. Updating my artwork has also led me to the EU's cultural
policy, whose strategic framework is currently being reviewed. I want to contribute to the reflection
on how the EU should relate to cultural policy given the treaty framework. Art is part of the
political, spiritual, and economic development of cities, three purposes that are probably the basis
for why we have the cities in which most humanity lives today. Many of us in Europe believe that
something new needs to happen and that Europe needs an initiative, but how do we move from
Ahnung to thought, from theory to action?
I visited China in 2019 and was quite shocked by how the cityscape, with its many generic
buildings and the lack of cultural facilities, felt. In China's Inner Mongolia, Ai Wei Wei and Herzog
Meuron have been working on the construction project Ordos100, where architects have put a lot of
knowledge, time, and energy into designing the type of houses. The project's failure is an important
lesson for the outside world, if not for the Chinese, who may well perceive life in high-rise
buildings as desert migration from and to a life with a villa, Volvo, and dog. This movement was
effectively ended for political, economic, and commercial reasons.
I also experienced a case of agoraphobia in a square in Minsk, built in a Stalinist monumentalism
style, where it felt like I was disappearing as a human being - it was an eerie experience. It a world
apart from the golden harmony and decorative elegance characterizing Lithuanian Baroque. This
reminds us that we are servants and that man come first. There is the human situation and human
character.
Then, there is - to quote Joel Kotkin - the Human City.
By that, I do not mean that we should let the nation-states of Europe use themselves until they fall
over exhausted and Asians take over. On the contrary, I think we should take a self-conscious
approach, declare ourselves European, and build Europe politically, economically, and culturally
before the suburbs of the world retaliate. Andres Duaney published The Smart Growth Manual over
a decade ago. Perhaps we should define the elements and put together an integrated urban theory
with the working title, The European Urban Manual. What is the conceptual infrastructure of this
study?
My career goal is to develop my leadership as a European public policy representative.
Right now, I live in Kolding, Denmark's 8th largest municipality, which is stagnant and has several
suppressed social conflicts and a well-grown, self-absorbed, and power-hungry bureaucracy, as well
as full-time politicians in the city council who are too busy to think. However, it is also a region
with a wide expanse of nature where people get along as human beings. There is certainly a vibrant
church in Kolding, but this may not be a busy town. Alternatively, as they say, out in West Jutland:
“If the mission does not get you, the fox will”.
Of course, I am interested in getting my foot into the door and contributing to the city's development
as one of several possible routes to the job market. I'm sure I deserve it.
In Copenhagen, Europe meets Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea meets the Arctic. In winter, cold
Siberian winds occasionally blow across harbors. In Southern Jutland, the Wadden Sea provides
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esidents with a sense of horizon and opportunities to relax, while Kolding contains Koldinghus,
Galleri Trapholdt, and Christiansfeld, as well as a river that flows slowly through the town with
cryptic messages. Like my ancestors, who fled the duchies, Kolding became a city where people
stayed briefly to move on, the city was a êntre-pot. The only square is the railway station square
with a view of Koldinghus that masks the absence of true democracy in the city. On the other hand,
the Crown Prince opened an exhibition that included the bow of Dannebrog. I have interpreted this
as an invitation to the people of Kolding to create something new and to honor the city with the
need for an architectural masterpiece that is steeped in renewal in harmony with the ancestors. I am
just an ambitious voice, wearing the velvet gloves of Central Europe - without which, according to
Milan Kundera, Europe is not possible.
Family-wise, I have a distant cousin in Venezuela, a former city architect in Caracas. My father's
uncle, Uncle Serban, is the former mayor of a Transylvanian mountain municipality, after which my
father is named. He was baptized by Serban Dan. Today, he is named Dan Serban.
I have been encouraged to apply for the program. I do not know who is paying for it.
It goes without saying that, without love and spring water, the hero is no good, no matter how selfdependent
and self-aware he is. Like humans, we rely on interactions with others to nourish
ourselves. At the same time, life in institutions provides people the opportunity for an exchange
between bodies, impressions, thoughts, ideas, and considerations – to exercise power. However, as
students, you are at least ganz frei.
This must be set against the fact that urban planners' perceptions of their roles have changed over
time. They make decisions, filter issues, seek to influence others, and put pressure on themselves.
Architecture, on the other hand, helps to tell a story and changes people's self-perception. This has
become more subtle and agile.
However, what does the transformation of governance structures mean for what we think about
urbanism in Europe? We used to be post-modern. If we are to be modern again in Europe,
theoretically sound approaches will be required. Therefore, I would like to get out of the program
the ability to contribute to the construction of Europe and the quality of urban development in
Denmark regarding the tasks I may have in the future. As you can see, I believe that we should not
only take a more strategic approach to urban planning in Europe, but also create new, wellstructured
bodies that are both European-oriented, nationally anchored, and sufficiently lubricated.
This is provided by theoretically sound approaches that link good urban management with strategic
urban design and architecture beyond Seaside, Florida.
In other words, there are three projects in play: (1) A document entitled "Towards a European
Architecture" (2) The New Kastrup project (3) An Urban Theory Manual that interacts with and
engages architecture as a natural part of the city, an architecture that is both a symbol and an
everyday thing, and a human experience that connects the built environment, sensory experience
and influences how citizens stroll along streets and squares. This trinity requires solid grounding
and integration between related disciplines such as architectural theory, urban theory, and practice,
as conceived by the Copenhagen School. In other words, this is an urban design rather than urban
planning, although it is hardly an ideal city.
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Without an integrated theory-informed approach to urban development and architecture, there is no
European urbanism to relate to. Mark Jayne and Kevin Ward suggest the elements around which a
European city in New Kastrup could be harmonized: participation, materials, play, social utility,
technology, sustainability, rhythm, mobility and mixed-use, learning and entrepreneurship,
encounters and consumption, markets and waterfronts in a reproducible and comparative way. The
value of the European City lies in the way it connects urbanization with urbanity, cultural policy
with democracy, multicultural identity with local distinctiveness, and architecture with urban theory
to create a contemporary European expression combined with a sense of innovative visual form. We
must create something new and better in Europe.
The aim is not only to excite Copenhageners and make them feel more European but also to
contribute to the development of multicultural European theory-informed urbanism. Of course, I
respect New Bauhaus' implicit desire to act as a support wheel for the political unification of
Europe under the leadership of Paris-Brussels-Berlin. However, this is not the focus of my project.
The autonomy of art is at stake. At the same time, the connections between architecture and human
experience are not particularly well elucidated in the urban-theoretical literature. There are
questions regarding the relationship between the political system, governance of the project, and
funding.
Copenhagen must be an actor in the fast-changing world of European urbanism, and help shape
European capitalism with its own goals and values, which are now in the making stage. The city
must communicate clearly and build relationships along this path through bridge-building and
networking. I envision a European city that expresses an anthropocentric cosmic order, is functional
and organic in its form as fungi that grow in and hold together the earth, as conceived by urban
theorists, architects, and artists in happy symbiosis from all EU and candidate countries, and with
leading forces to be defined. Strong leadership and good governance are necessary to lead change.
The purpose of this is to express a certain idea of the European City. I see Fungi as signaling: (1)
The earth that holds us together through an invisible network that we must cherish; (2) that we must
be earthy in the sense of being down-to-earth, natural, or even open and direct about what others
avoid, or are ashamed of; and (3) to stimulate a connection to the earth in Europe or to European
soil, something that we have become distanced from in our society.
But I cannot do it alone. I need your help.
I am hoping for fruitful exchange and guidance from teachers and students in both directions.
In a nutshell, I will explore the connections between politics and urban planning, architecture,
sculpture, and painting within an appropriate urban theoretical framework.
Overall, I think we need to prepare for rapid change in Europe. We must combine boldness with
smoothness as part of a well-thought-out plan for the political unification of the EU. May les
consciences keep up.
What are your contributions?
Christian Ilcus director@ilcus.eu
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Bibliography:
Brenner, Neil New Urban Spaces. Urban Theory and the Scale Question, OUP, 2019.
Carrera, Judit Europe City Lessons from the European Prize for Urban Public Space. CCC-BCN,
2015.
Galindo, Michelle Collection: European Architecture, Braun, 2009.
Gospodini, Aspa "European Cities in Competition and the new "Uses" of Urban Design", Journal of
Urban Design, vol.7(1), 2002.
Kotkin, Joel The Human City - Urbanism for the Rest of Us, 2017.
Kristjansdottir, Sigridur Nordic Experiences of Sustainable Planning, Policy and Practice,
Routledge, 2018.
Mark Jayne & Kevin Ward Urban Theory New Critical Perspectives, Routledge, 2007.
Cecilie Sachs Olsen and Christina Juhlin "Architecture and Urban Studies - an awkward kinship,”
Nordic Journal of Urban Studies, vol.2, 2022.
Sheldrake, Merlin Entangled Life - How Fungi make our worlds, change our minds, and change
our futures, Vintage, 2021.
Ward, Kevin Towards a Comparative return in Urban Studies - some reflections, Urban Geography,
vo.29(5), 2008.
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